Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of students at the Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. It was an honor to be able to talk with them about both The Fiddler’s Gun and the challenges of creative writing. I often worry that the generation coming up has abandoned the joys of reading and writing but the students I met were an inspiring surprise. They reminded me that the precious creative spark, though sometimes dim and lost among the ashes, is kindled yet and smoldering. I don’t know that there’s any greater joy an author can experience than to see the sparkle in eyes of his readers and my thanks goes out to the Battle Ground Academy for allowing me to see it in their students. If you or a school in your area are interested in hosting an event, contact me for details.

The Fiddler’s Gun is finding its way into bookstores around the country thanks to a lot of you kind readers. Keep up the great work. Here’s a picture of Matt at the Stately Raven Bookstore in Findlay, Ohio:And another of Paula at The Book Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma:

They’ll both be receiving advanced reader copies of Fiddler’s Green later this year. If you want to get your hands on it early as well, talk to your local bookstores, get them to order a copy (or 8) and then send me a picture. Thanks for reading!

The Fiddler’s Gun is now available to bookstores nationwide. Until now, distribution has been limited to the Rabbit Room Store (still the preferred sales point) and Amazon, but now that Rabbit Room Press is distributing through Ingram Book Company, stores all over the country have the option to stock the book.

That’s good news...

But...

Bookstores need to know about the book and know why they should stock it. They won’t order it if they don’t know it’s out there. So if you’ve read the book, I’ve got a mission for you. Get out there and tell your favorite local bookseller. In fact, don’t just tell them to stock it, insist! And don’t stop there, help them sell it too.

To encourage you to do just that, I’ll offer you a reward. Send me a photograph of The Fiddler’s Gun prominently displayed, cover out (instead of spine out) on the shelf at your local bookstore and I’ll add your name to the advanced reader list for Fiddler’s Green. That means that you’ll receive a free advance review copy a couple of months earlier than the rest of the world. How ‘bout them apples? Extra points if you include a picture of yourself posing with the book in the store.